Monday, February 27, 2012

The discontent beetween Peter Taylorand Brian Clough had taken its toll and Peter had
had enough. Nottingham Forest tried to persuade him to stay, but Peter
was adamant and sadly the private dislike between the old partners
now became public knowledge, especially when he became manager at
the Baseball Ground. In the meantime, Clough seemed happy with his new
partnerless role and actually righted many wrongs in the transfer market
by bringing in experienced talent such as Colin Todd from Birmingham
City and full back Kenny Swain from Aston Villa. Both I had major
European experience should the I new look Forest need it. In
the new season, that began to look like Peter Taylor, a vital factor in
the club's a renewed possibility. For despite a stuttering phenomenal
success, left the club after start, a fantastically productive run fromfalling
oat with Brian Clough. October to Christmas shot the club from a humble
13th slot to second place behind Liverpool, once again runaway leaders.
But this was to be a roller coaster season, as an awful run from
January to early spring saw Forest dtop once more to tenth. Then just as
the post mortem was about to dismiss the team as a 'load of losers'
they bounced, back again with a nine-match unbeaten run which contained
seven victories.

The
Reds had finished in fifth place and as such had gained a UEFA Cup
place for the following season. The potential glory nights had returned
much sooner than a lot of people expected. Sadly that mid-season dip in
form proved much more costly than a few dropped points in the league
campaign. First of all, in the third round of the FA Cup, traditionally
in January, Clough had to take the Reds to the Baseball Ground to face
Peter Taylor's Derby. It was true tabloid material, which was only
heightened by the outcome. Derby won 2-0 and Clough complained
publically that it was Willie Young's fault and claimed he was in
cahoots with Taylor. The Forest manager was so incensed that he refused
to let the case drop and eventually he offloaded Young in the summer.What
had also been a promising League Cup campaign also ground to a halt in
January. West Bromwich Albion had been beaten 7-4 on aggregate, when the
Reds were drawn against Watford in the next round. The Hornets were
regular opponents in the competition, having knocked Forest out of the
Cup two years earlier. This year, however, the Garibaldis were in
devastating form, with Ian Bowyer and Garry Birtles returning to the
City Ground. Despite conceding an early goal, Forest went straight onto
the offensive. Watford played their part in a goal deluge, but after
Young equalized, both Proctor and Birtles weighed in with a brace each,
supported by one each from Bowyer and Wallace. Ten goals altogether, but
it could easily have been double. A more credible 2-0 victory over
Brentford raised hopes of renewed success, but in the next round, again
in 'black January', a trip to Old Trafford resulted in a 4-0 win for
Manchester United and everyone was brought back down to earth.However,
although the 1982-83 season finished trophyless, there had been signs
of a recovery and Forest were hungry for renewed success.